Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Victims Advocacy announce that the Kentucky’s Crime Victims’ Rights Day Commemoration was held today in the Capitol Building Rotunda. This ceremony coincides with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

The guest speaker is Mr. John W. Gillis, former National Director of the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Gillis will share his story as a 26-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and how he became the founding member Justice for Homicide Victims (JHV) and the Coalition of Victims Equal Rights after his 23-year-old daughter was murdered.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crimes, 14,827 homicides were reported in the United States during 2012 (www.victimsofcrime.org and www.fbi.gov). During that same time frame, 201 people in Kentucky died as a result of violent crime. Almost 10 percent of all homicides are known to have been perpetrated by an intimate partner.

The commemoration at the Capitol follows the National Center for Victims of Crimes’ theme for 2015, “Engaging Communities-Empowering Victims.” This year, Attorney General Conway and his advocates have been promoting a community approach to assisting victims. The focus means encouraging all law enforcement, social services, prosecutors, medical professionals and community members to work together in an effort to ensure victims have access to services.“Working together is the best way to help stop the cycle of violent crime,” Attorney General Conway said. “We cannot operate in a silo, and we must work together so that victims are referred to the appropriate agencies to get the help they need to understand the legal system and seek treatment for any medical and psychological issues that have resulted from the violence.”

In 2014, Attorney General Conway’s Office of Victims Advocacy provided resource referrals to more than 7,000 victims, victim advocates, and victim service providers. The office also trained more than 800 victim advocates, prosecutors, and law enforcement through various initiatives.

The Office of Victims Advocacy also administers and monitors the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Board, which funds child sexual abuse prevention programs and oversees the tax check-off and license plate projects for the Child Victims’ Trust Fund.

For more information about services offered by the Office of Victim’s Advocacy, visit www.ag.ky.gov.